Explorers of the Deep by WotC

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 32

Deck overview

This deck is a Simic tribal aggro build centered on Hakbal of the Surging Soul. Its primary objective is to curve low-mana Merfolk into Hakbal on Turn 4, triggering explore across the board immediately upon entering combat. Explore filters card draws, bins unwanted nonlands, fills the hand with lands, and distributes +1/+1 counters to grow the team. From there, the deck transitions into an evasive combat force using anthem lords, counter doublers like Branching Evolution, and evasion grantors such as Herald of Secret Streams and Master of the Pearl Trident. Alternate win conditions like Simic Ascendancy provide passive inevitability if the board stalls. While vulnerable to repeated creature sweepers and lacking stack-based interaction, the deck offsets attrition with substantial card flow, incidental ramp, and phased protection.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherize
  • 1 Alchemist's Refuge
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Benthic Biomancer
  • 1 Branching Evolution
  • 1 Bygone Marvels
  • 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Commander's Sphere
  • 1 Commit // Memory
  • 1 Coralhelm Commander
  • 1 Curse of the Swine
  • 1 Deeproot Elite
  • 1 Deeproot Historian
  • 1 Deeproot Waters
  • 1 Emperor Mihail II
  • 1 Evolution Sage
  • 1 Explore
  • 7 Forest
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 Hakbal of the Surging Soul
  • 1 Hardened Scales
  • 1 Herald of Secret Streams
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Inspiring Call
  • 13 Island
  • 1 Karn's Bastion
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Kiora's Follower
  • 1 Kodama's Reach
  • 1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
  • 1 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
  • 1 Llanowar Reborn
  • 1 Master of the Pearl Trident
  • 1 Merfolk Cave-Diver
  • 1 Merfolk Mistbinder
  • 1 Merfolk Skydiver
  • 1 Merfolk Sovereign
  • 1 Merrow Reejerey
  • 1 Metallic Mimic
  • 1 Mist Dancer
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Prime Speaker Zegana
  • 1 Quandrix Command
  • 1 Rapid Hybridization
  • 1 Ravenform
  • 1 Realmwalker
  • 1 Reflections of Littjara
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Ripples of Potential
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Ruinous Intrusion
  • 1 Sage of Fables
  • 1 Seafloor Oracle
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Simic Ascendancy
  • 1 Simic Growth Chamber
  • 1 Simic Signet
  • 1 Singer of Swift Rivers
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Stonybrook Banneret
  • 1 Surgespanner
  • 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
  • 1 Temple of Mystery
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 Thassa, God of the Sea
  • 1 Thieving Skydiver
  • 1 Tishana, Voice of Thunder
  • 1 Topography Tracker
  • 1 Tributary Instructor
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Vorel of the Hull Clade
  • 1 Wave Goodbye
  • 1 Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood
  • 1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker